Women in the Special Collections – part 2: Anna van der Horst (1735-1785), a female poet

Recently I came across a work from 1772 about the Siege of Groningen written by Anna van der Horst, a woman! A good reason to investigate what I could discover about her.

She wrote two epics; the epic was seen as the most prestigious genre for a poet, the epitome of their achievement. The main characters in her epics are women from the Bible, Ruth and Deborah. Her epic about Ruth, published in 1764, is the first in Dutch literature in which a woman has the lead role. In reaction to this work Betje Wolff wrote the poem ‘Aan Mejuffer Anna van der Horst’ (To Miss Anna van der Horst), in which she praises her friend and the work of her friend

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Siege of Groningen in 1772, Anna van der Horst wrote a play entitled: De Belegering van Groningen in Het Jaar 1672: Door Sprekende Perzonen Uitgebeeld (‘The Siege of Groningen in the Year 1672: Depicted by Speaking Persons’). This play was probably performed as part of the celebrations. Although all the characters are men, everyone plays a part in the siege and the role of women is described, for example in the first act (p. 9):

Ik zag hoogagtb're Vrouwen, | Hoe zwak die kunne ook zij, als Paarden de Kartouwen | Voorttrekken naar den Wal

‘I saw venerable women, weak though they may be, pull the cannons as horses towards the wall.’